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A comparison between normal vision from 1.5m away compared to Akiyama's vision

Akiyama Kazuhiko (秋山 和彦) is a SASUKE All-Star who became the first man to achieve Kanzenseiha, doing so in SASUKE 4. He has not been able to repeat his success however, due in part to an eye condition known as degenerative retinosis that has plagued him for years. His eye condition also forced him to retire from crab trapping, and he is now a sports massage therapist. He has also been a soldier in Japan's Self Defence Force, and a Greco-Roman Wrestler. His victory in SASUKE 4 was his only trip to the Final Stage. Of the 19 tournaments he has entered, he has cleared the First Stage 6 times, the Second Stage three times, the Third and Final Stages once.

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Early Competitions

Akiyama was given #100 in SASUKE 2, due to setting a record in Kinniku Banzuke's Quick Muscle event, however he was unable to clear the Second Stage because he took too much time on the Spider Walk and he hesitated on the Goren Hammer, and as a result he timed out on the Wall Lifting. He made the same mistakes in SASUKE 3 and timed out at the exact same spot.

Kanzenseiha

Not being seen as a serious threat to achieve kanzenseiha, he was given #86 in the fourth tournament. He was able to clear the Goren Hammer fairly quickly and finished off a second stage clear with a backflip. In the redesigned Third Stage, Akiyama fell just short of the platform at the end of the Pipe Slider, but was able to hold himself out of the water and climb up to the top. He was the only person to reach the Final Stage, where he cleared the 15 meter Rope Climb in just 24 seconds, becoming the first person in SASUKE history to achieve kanzenseiha.

After Kanzenseiha

Akiyama took SASUKE 5 off and returned in the fall of 2000 on SASUKE 6. However, he was met with three straight defeats at the hands of the Jump Hang. Prior to the ninth tournament, Akiyama built a replica Jump Hang at his house. However, he failed the first obstacle, the Godantobi, the only #100 ever to do so. He did manage to clear the Jump Hang in the tenth tournament, but timed out in the Soritatsu Kabe. Finally, seven tournaments after his kanzenseiha, Akiyama cleared the First Stage with just 0.03 seconds. Only Jordan Jovtchev(0.00), Fukayama Tadanori(0.08) and Nathaniel Spencer (0.00) are the others who cleared the First Stage with less than 1/10 of a second. This began a streak of two consecutive Third Stage appearances, failing the Body Prop and Pipe Slider, respectively. In SASUKE 13, however, he failed the Neshireta Kabe, perhaps because he didn't see the rope. In SASUKE 14 and SASUKE 15, he failed again the Soritatsu Kabe. He cleared the First Stage in SASUKE 16 but failed the Metal Spin in the Second Stage. In SASUKE 17, he took a wrong step on the trampoline and failed the Circle Slider.

Following Nagano's kanzenseiha, Akiyama vowed to retire, skipping the next two competitions. However he returned to SASUKE 20 and wore #1901 (the equivalent of the #1) as an honor for the 20th competition. However, like many that day, he failed the Half-Pipe Attack. He returned in SASUKE 22, and again went out on the Half-Pipe Attack. He returned again for SASUKE 24 and SASUKE 25, where he failed the Soritatsu Kabe both times. His final appearance was in SASUKE 28, where he failed the Spin Bridge.